The National tribune., 1887-12-15

him, an hid in bunch o. shoemake brush at
the edge o. q field.
"The company all gethered airly at Squire
IulkinhOrn's on bright, warm day. Jim
Padget brung Mandy Jane jerks; Romulus
Cicero Arbuckle, the schoolteacher twin, came
alone, but Remus Tullius Arbuckle, the black
smith twin, brung Mary Warsaw, q niece of
old Capt. Warsaw, who lived in Ohio, an wuz
on visit to her uncle. She wuz so purity an
stylish an eddieated that Sphrony TulkinhOrn
hated her from the mint she laid eyes on her,
an turned up her nose at a common girl like
her putin on airs There wuz lot more, an
at the tail end o. the perseshun wuz the Hoskins
boys, who brung the Virgins gals, and the Wig
gins boys, who brung the Hoskins gals, an the
small fry Wigginses an Hoskinses, who brung
nOthin' but rags, the itch, an sppetites like
buzz-saws.
After the men-folks d talked over the per-
litikle candidates an the hoss-ra at the
Courthouse the last court day, an the craps an
the tight between Elder Jsggers an 81 Hoskins,
an tuck in few drinks all around of Squire
Tulkinhorn's bald face, an the women folks had
swapped news bout the new babies in the neigh
borhood an who'd 'sperienced religion at the
revival which Elder Jaggers wuz earryin' on at
the Forks Church, an ct all they wanted o.
doughnuts an coffee, we got ready to start.
Lille brung out S'phrony, all mincin' an
blushin' an in bran-new ridin' dress, an
helped her into the saddle. The other fellers
follered suit with their gals, Ole Nelse passed
round the demijohn o. bald-face sgin, and the
Old Squire, wipin' his red eyes an his redder
nose with his red bandanna, bid Lie an
S'phrony good-by.
''Be good to her, my son, he said TO Lie, with
ahiecup, for he'd been steamin' up with bald-face
right stiddy ever sence he'd got up, in order to
git his paternal election to the meltin' pint
She's the fairest, tenderest flower that ever
nourish her in your bosom ez I've nOurisaed
her in mine
40, paw said S'phrony, with her face ez
red ez a beet, what remarks are them? You
should be more modest
"Bimeby they all got started, an went sing
in an laughin an hOllerin' long the road that
led to 'L1e Hathaway's place, at the mouth O.
the Crick.
'sWe'd went bout mile, an wuz gOin' slow
up a steep hill when all of a suddent, Zeke
Hathaway popped up out o. the shOemake
brush at the side o. the road, so nigh that I
could Almost we hit him with my ridin' switch,
give a skeered look Outen his eyes, an then
streaked it across the field for dear life, maxim
for the woods at the top OF the hill. 1t came
so unexpected like, that / wuz sort o startled
myself
"'Gosh almighty. thar's runaway niger
yelled the HoSkinseS an Wigginses, all at
once. Cit him! Git him Set the dogs onto
him.
"Seh scramblin' ez there wuz to git cross
that fence / never did see, nor sich cussin' an
swearin' ezthem Hoskinses an Wigginses done.
The fence wuz an ole one, ali OvergrOwn with
briers, vines an shOemake brush, SO that it
wuz powerful hard TO git through or over.
Each feller wuz crazy to git the nigger hisself.
an SO hev all the reward, so every feller tried
to keep the other fellers back. am 81 HOskins
an Pete Virgins fell to fghtin' right on the
fence, an could not be separated till they both
tumbled often their horses into the blackberry
briers an scratched themselves till their faces
an hands wuz bleedin' awfully.